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Fuchs will end his European career having been told as a teenager he would never make it as a professional and is now helping the next generation with his Fox Soccer Academy.

Fuchs already has arms of the academy in New York and Austria and is launching phase two of his project - a scholarship programme for 16 to 19-year-olds - a couple of years after it took off in Leicester.

"It's never going to be the case I'm completely done; I love the club, the city and appreciate the people. Maybe I want to build a bit of my own legacy here," he said.

"From this guy who wasn't good enough, I ended up a Premier League champion.

Christian Fuchs celebrates after scoring for Leicester

"I was scouted from some academies from Bundesliga teams and didn't get good feedback.

"It fuels the motivation I have with the academy, that there's a child who hasn't been discovered yet or had the same problem of being told they weren't good enough."

He founded the academy with Heinz Griesmayer, who he worked with as a youth player at Austrian side Wiener Neustadt, and initially opened it for eight to 16-year-olds in Leicester after joining the Foxes.

It is now recruiting 25 players between 16 and 19-years-old to become its elite squad for a two-year scholarship.

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It will offer games against professional clubs and the chance to enter the FA Youth Cup, as well as education opportunities like A-Levels and coaching badges, with Crystal Palace academy coach Mark Smith a key part of the set-up.

While his nurturing approach is paying off the former Austria international received an altogether different experience during his time with boyhood idol Dietmar Kuhbauer at ex-club Mattersburg.

He said: "I had an idol growing up, Didi Kuhbauer, and when I became professional I had a chance to work with him. He was the age I am now and I was 17 - I was afraid of him for five years.

"That doesn't exist anymore but now I'm thankful for that because he built me up for what may come in the future. He saw my potential."